Lovely Gibberish
Premiered in 2015
A dance performance and film screening event
Also featuring Capturing Grace, an award-winning documentary by Bay Area filmmaker Dave Iverson
In partnership with PD Active and Danspace
Photo by Matt Haber
The dance
Lovely Gibberish was inspired by how whimsy and play can help to make us feel better. It gave us the opportunity to play with breaking the fourth wall, similar to our dance Spider Inside Her. At the time of the creation of Lovely Gibberish, dNaga had been seven years deep into interviewing dancers with Parkinson’s about their experiences. After many years of trying to make sense of the impact of terms such as “alpha synuclein”, “protein”, “idiopathic”, and “brain barrier”, we needed to create a dance to Hamlet & Eggs, a poem by Gary Turchin, one of our dancers with Parkinson’s (below).
Hamlet & Eggs
Sushi, or not sushi,
that is digestion.
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind
to supper the wings and marrows
of outrageous portions,
or to take arms against a sea of bubbles,
and by opposing,
blend them.
To fry
to grease,
no more.
And by to grease,
to say we end the heartburn,
and the thousand island dressings,
that flesh is heir to.
Tis a constipation
devoutly to be missed.
To fry, to grease…
To grease,
perchance to steam!
Ay!
There's the grub!
– Gary Turchin, 1986
“The dance performance was inspiring and hopeful and raised questions for me about human resiliency, limitations, and what it can mean to push past the boundaries of what I feel is possible in my life.”
– Shelly Fox, audience member
The film
Capturing Grace, directed by Bay Area filmmaker Dave Iverson, follows several dNaga dancers and a group of Brooklyn-based PEACE dancers with Parkinson’s as they prepare for a 2012 Dance for PD performance in New York.
The film won the People’s Choice Award at the 2014 Starz Denver and Mill Valley Film Festivals. It also received glowing press in The New York Times and other publications.
“Another documentary that’s landing on our must-see list is director Dave Iverson’s Capturing Grace.”
– San Jose Mercury News
World premiere of Capturing Grace at the Mark Morris Dance Center, Brooklyn, 2012
Warren Brunetti (PD Dancer) retired from the Internal Revenue Service in 2003. This concluded a varied career that included marketing researcher, independent retailer, property developer, and high school math teacher. Currently Warren volunteers notary services for the Mastick Senior Center in Alameda, takes Osher Lifelong Learning Institute courses at UC Berkeley, and participates in dance classes from PD Active. During his younger years, Warren took tap and ballet from Pearl Kay in Berkeley. Warren lives with his wife, son, and granddaughter in Alameda. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2008.
Martha Friedberg (PD Dancer) has been practicing immigration law in Oakland since graduating from GGU Law School in 1978. Presently, she is working less and dancing more. As a child, Martha took ballet classes on Long Island. Over the years she dabbled on and off with other forms of dance including modern, bharata natyam, and salsa, although she never performed before having PD. She took her first yoga class in New York City in 1970 and has practiced ever since. Martha was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2010, with symptoms beginning at least two years earlier. She is grateful for our PD Active community, our wonderful, whimsical PD Dance classes, the opportunity to dance with dNaga’s sparkling young dancers, and the direction and vision of Claudine.
Herb Heinz (PD Dancer) loves to dance, sing, play, bang on things, tell stories, and generally make stuff up, particularly in mysterious or uncomfortable situations. Artistic exploration is a practice that helps Herb navigate the twists and turns of living with Parkinson’s — which he has been doing since January of 2000. Although he studied and played music since Kindergarten, he avoided dancing until he was 45, when he attended his first Dance for Parkinson’s class. He has been dancing ever since. The class also inspired Herb and several other folks with Parkinson’s to form PD Active, a non-profit organization that sponsors dance, yoga, and other activities that help keep people with Parkinson’s in the Oakland/Berkeley area from becoming isolated and sedentary. More recently, Herb added a “playroom” to his home (This Here Space) where he offers weekly activities that are open to all ages and abilities, like “Tuesday Morning Dance,” and “Saturday Evening Sunset Ritual.”
Michelle Johnston (PD Dancer) was born and raised in Scotland where she began learning Scottish country dancing as part of her elementary school curriculum, as Scottish country dancing is an integral part of one’s culture. Settling in California 40 years ago she became a Nurse-Midwife and a Mum and dancing faded out of her life. Recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease she was encouraged to join Claudine at dNaga and is now exploring dance and movement in ways she had never dreamed of.
dNaga dancers
Lauren Aczon, Ceressa Allen, Bebe Aronson, Hannah Brunetti, Shosi Black, Catalina Jackson-Urueña, Lucie Jerome, Janey Madamba, Leila Massoudi, Sylvie Rodgers, and Charlotte Sielewicz
Dancers with Parkinson’s
Warren Brunetti, Martha Friedberg, Herb Heinz, Michelle Johnston and Gary Turchin
Claudine Naganuma: Artistic Director, choreographer
Joel Davel: Composer, live musician (Marimba Lumina), lighting
Dale MacDonald: Lighting and projection designer
Steve Sanchez: Videographer
